Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-05
THE FORESTER.
Trimming Pine Trees.


A correspondent of the People an Pa
troit, in discussing the trimming of pine
trees, states that those who have bought
and sawn timber from which live limbs have
been removed in the course of their growth
do not approve of trimming. The writer
thinks that they have come to this conclusion
for the reason that this care of trees had
been delayed too long, or until they had
grown nearly large enough for boards. Pine
trees which reached almost timber growth
before being deprived OF their lower limbs,
and then have them removed in an unskilful
manner, perhaps at the wrong season of the
year, might send out an abundance of pitch
which would melt in the summer and run
down on the bark. Such wounds be-
smeared with pitch would be likely to
make the timber open badly for boards
after few more years of growth were
added.
Certainly the trimming of small trees,
taking off the live limbs from their trunks,
may be made with the expectation that
they will make better quality of lumber
when grown, US we'll as make better APP
pearance standing. Most Of the work of
this kind has been poorly done, and the
consequences Of it seem doubtful. A limb
struck with the axe in such way as to
tear the bark down the tree for several
inches as it falls of course makes bad
wound. It would be much better to give
the quick stroke from, the under side of the
limb, two or three inches out from the
trunk of the tree, OR still better, to use q
pruning shear, making a square cut.
Wounds of reasonable size thus made
would sere over in the March winds, if
made in February, or at such season as the
snow hardens in spring. Limbs cut q
little out from the tree would drop the
pitch away from the trunk, if they should
bleed.
Whatever may be said by millmen about
the kinds of knots which are found in
boards sawn from trees which have been
trimmed, the opinion of the writer is that
ali small thicket trees may be improved by
removing some lower limbs, dead or alive.
| Of course a small, tall sapling which has
attained diameter of five or six inches
would make better clapboards OF mould
ings, if all the limbs were removed from
sixteen or twenty-fou feet of the trunk
nearest the ground. The writer is of the
opinion that live limbs less than two
inches in diameter should be removed by
saving close to the bark of the trunk, if
done in midwinter. He has trees which
we're thus treated several years ago i'll
| February, which grew very smoothly, no
pitch of any consequence trying out after
| icing scared by the March winds.-Amer
|
| icu7, Cultirdtor.
Forest Destruction.
In alluding,to the subject of rainfall, and
the effect produced by the destruction of
forests, one of our contemporaries says:
awhile as rule We turn up our royal
North American noses at the suggestion of
systematic forest culture, in Europe the
people have learned wisdom from ex-
perience. The French and German gov
ernments are illustrating what we might do
ourselves, by buying seeds of us. Near
Burlington, VT, some 1900 bushels of pine
cones have been purchased at forty cents
per bushel, for foreign shipment. They are
inspected daily, and as they open are taken
to the barn and threshed, the seeds cleaned
and placed in bags for transportation. 1t
occupies an average of five men daily for
two months to gather the seed from 1900
bushels, each bushel yielding about a
pound Of seed. There is a branch of this
business, nearly double in product, near
Charlotte, Vt. The cones are gathered
about the first of September, and treated
with heated air to expedite their opening.
All these are shipped to France, Germany
and the other governments of Europe. APP
propos of this subject, some statistics were
recently published showing that Lake